Thrips palmi

Basic information
Scientific name	Thrips palmi	Click to magnify
Common names	Melon thrips
Higher taxon	Thripidae, Thysanoptera, Insecta
Natural range	Southeast Asia.
Habitat	Parasite on various plants, in farm area.

Invasion information
Range in Japan	Fukushima Pref. to central and western Japan.
Origin	Unknown.
Date	The first record in Japan was in 1978 at Miyazaki Pref. The first record in Okinawa Pref. was in Mar 1980, on watermelon in Naha City.
Route	Accidental: Possibly hitchhiking on agricultural seedlings.
Impact	Damage on agriculture by predation of leaves and carrying viruses. Native organism(s) affected: Various crops.
Regulation in Japan	Thripidae thrips are assigned as Quarantine Pest (the Plant Protection law)
Introduced range in other countries	Continental China, Thailand, Myanmar, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, India, Sri Lanka, Mauritius, Sudan, Netherland, Canary Islands, USA (Florida), Caribbean Islands, Guyana, Hawaii, Guam, New Caledonia, Samoa, etc.

Reference

Notes

Ecol Soc Jpn (ed) (2002) Handbook of Alien Species in Japan. Chijinshokan, Tokyo (in Jpn)
Kawai (1990) Pest management in greenhouse vegetable cultivation: management of Thrips palmi Karny. Plant Protection. 44, 341-344 (in Jpn)
Kawai (1993) Occurrence and control of Thrips palmi Karny in recent years. Plant Protection. 47(3), 112-114 (in Jpn)
Kawai (2001) Population management of the Thrips palmi Karny. Jpn J Appl Entomol Zool. 45, 39-59 (in Jpn with Englis abst)
Kohama & Takahara (2002) Exotic insects in Okinawa. Bull Okinawa Pref Mus. 28, 55-92 (in Jpn)
Plant Protection Station (2011) The Plant Protection Act. Quarantine Pest List. (Accessed on 2012-3-13) http://www.pps.go.jp/law_active/Notification/basis/5/245/html/245.html (in Jpn)
etc.

100 of the Japan’s Worst Invasive Alien Species